A 38-year-old Bradenton woman was killed early Friday when her car crossed a median and struck a tree in Manatee County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around midnight on 9th Street East, just south of 50th Avenue Drive East.
According to FHP, the woman was driving a gray 2021 Honda Civic south in the right lane of 9th Street East when the vehicle veered left, crossed the inside lane, drove over the raised center median and collided with an oak tree.
Manatee County Emergency Medical Services pronounced the driver dead at the scene, troopers said.
No other vehicles or people were involved in the crash.
The Florida Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the crash.
Florida’s 2026 crash statistics
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and
Motor Vehicles reports there were 194,796 crashes in Florida through July 23, 2026, including 1,420 fatalities.
The department’s Florida Crash Dashboard also reported 125,634 injuries, 1,317 fatal crashes and 83,794 injury crashes statewide during the same period.
Wade Tatangelo is the executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 38-year-old Bradenton woman dies after crashing into tree, FHP says
